Willits brings together a seasonal ride on the Skunk Train, arts offerings, ranch history, and Willits Frontier Days. Activities vary in their timing, from seasonal departures to walks that require reservations and the annual July 4 parade. If you’re planning your trip around a particular activity, you can first consider its requirements, then decide which other offerings fit into your stay.

Wolf Tree Turn: a seasonal ride departing from Willits

Wolf Tree Turn is a seasonal, 16-mile ride that takes two hours and starts in Willits. Its duration gives you a clear time frame for planning your day; confirm departure times before your trip. Along the way, the route passes through Tunnel #2 and then descends into the Noyo River Canyon. At Crowley, passengers can disembark to enjoy the view of the Wolf Tree. The ride thus combines a defined duration with several distinctive stops: the tunnel, the descent into the canyon, and the option to disembark at Crowley.

The Skunk Train depot in Willits is also relevant for getting there: it’s a stop on the Amtrak San Joaquins connecting bus service. If you’re including this connection in your plans, check the service details before your trip. This lets you consider planning the seasonal train ride and the connecting bus as two separate points.

Ranch history and arts offerings

The Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation offers self-guided walks through historic Ridgewood Ranch in Willits by reservation. Make sure to reserve before including the walk in your stay. Seabiscuit’s stud barn, which is designated a National Historic Site, is located on the ranch. Visiting the ranch and the historic site gives the Seabiscuit story a tangible connection to Willits.

The Willits Center for the Arts offers a different perspective on culture. New gallery exhibitions are featured every month, with exhibitions of photography, paintings, sculpture, and textile art on view year-round. Classes include ceramics, drawing, painting, and dance. Exhibitions and classes appeal to different interests: you can focus on the art forms on display or explore the subjects covered in the classes.

Summer offerings and Willits Frontier Days

Willits’ municipal swimming pool offers public swimming lessons and water aerobics during the summer months. If these offerings are important to your stay, check current opening dates before your visit. This makes summer a distinct planning factor, separate from the Skunk Train’s seasonal departures.

Willits Frontier Days has continued without interruption since 1926. The celebration includes an annual July 4 parade on Main Street, on the stretch between Commercial Street and East Valley Street. If you want to plan your trip around the parade, check the event dates and program in advance. The precise street section helps you identify the parade as a specific event, without equating it with the entire event program.

Discover more destinations: Mendocino, Point Arena, Hopland, Fort Bragg, Boonville, Gualala, Philo, Redwood Valley

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